SAP-C02 Practice Question: Accelerate Workload Migration and Modernization
A company is migrating a 10 TB SQL Server database to Amazon Aurora PostgreSQL. The migration must have minimal downtime. The source database is running on-premises with a 1 Gbps network link to AWS. Which strategy should be used to reduce the migration downtime?
Answer choices
Why each option matters
Answer the question above first, then reveal the full breakdown to understand why each option is right or wrong.
Correct answer & explanation
✓
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with full load and ongoing replication.
AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) is the correct choice because it combines a full load of the existing data with ongoing replication to capture incremental changes, minimizing downtime. Option A allows the target Aurora database to stay in sync with the source SQL Server until a cutover. Option B (backup/restore) requires significant downtime to take and restore the backup, and does not support ongoing replication. Option C (SCT) only converts the schema and exports data, missing the replication needed for minimal downtime. Option D is incorrect because an Aurora read replica can only be created from another Aurora DB instance, not from an on-premises database.
Answer analysis
Option-by-option breakdown
For each option: why learners choose it and why it is or isn't the right answer here.
- ✓
Use AWS Database Migration Service (DMS) with full load and ongoing replication.
Why this is correct
DMS supports both full load and continuous replication, minimizing cutover downtime.
- ✗
Take a full backup of the SQL Server database, upload it to Amazon S3, and restore to Aurora.
Why it's wrong here
A full backup restore does not support ongoing replication and requires downtime.
- ✗
Use AWS Schema Conversion Tool (SCT) to convert the schema, then export data to flat files and upload to S3.
Why it's wrong here
SCT converts schema, but ongoing replication is not possible with flat files.
- ✗
Create an Amazon Aurora read replica from the on-premises database.
Why it's wrong here
Aurora read replicas can only be created from an existing Aurora DB cluster.
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Written by Johnson Ajibi, MSc IT Security
Senior Network & Security Engineer · founder of Courseiva
This SAP-C02 practice question is part of Courseiva's free Amazon Web Services certification practice question bank. Courseiva provides original exam-style practice questions with explanations, topic-based practice, mock exams, readiness tracking, and study analytics to help learners prepare for the SAP-C02 exam.